Fleabrain Loves Franny

June 16, 2014
Rocklin pays homage to Charlotte’s Web, explores Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, and mildly evokes Elise Broach’s Masterpiece in this historical fiction/fantasy novel about fifth-grader Franny Katzenback, a victim of the polio epidemic that swept the United States in the early 1950s. Franny—a compassionate, thoughtful and sympathetic protagonist—is believably erratic in her emotions and reflections on her illness and its effects on her previously carefree life. Captivated by E.B. White’s just-published book, Franny longs for a Charlotte in her life. Enter Fleabrain, a well-read flea in love with his own intellect. Rocklin’s (The Five Lives of Our Cat Zook) rich depiction of 1950s Pittsburgh turns into a touching, imaginative whimsy, eventually becoming a full-fledged fantasy that fits somewhat awkwardly into the otherwise solid world she has constructed. Fleabrain and Franny’s fantastic adventures and secret noble deeds distract from Franny’s real story, which is satisfying in itself; she has the inner resources and loving support to come to the inspiring resolution without the flea’s help. An extensive author’s note details the history of polio and the fight to prevent it. Ages 8–12. Agent: Erin Murphy, Erin Murphy Literary Agency.

July 15, 2014
An exceptional flea helps a polio-stricken girl in this tale of friendship and acceptance.Ten-year-old Franny Katzenback, stuck in a wheelchair in her bedroom in Squirrel Hill, Pittsburgh, waits for a miracle cure. She endures painful therapy and isolation as fear of contagion keeps friends away. An avid reader, Franny falls in love with the newly published Charlotte's Web. When a flea writes her a note, Franny, lonely and so aware of the power of even the tiniest viruses, writes back. Fleabrain has extraordinary powers. He mounts Franny on a flying horse, and together, they do nocturnal good deeds throughout the city and fly to see the Seven Wonders of the World. Fleabrain, scholarly and erudite, is pompous, too often spouting quotes followed by the name of the quoted, including birth and death dates. He's not a particularly likable flea (no Charlotte he); his pontificating interrupts the story and seems far too sophisticated for the intended audience, as do some of the fantasy adventures, as when Fleabrain is summoned to judgment by hordes of nuclei. On the other hand, Rocklin perfectly captures the era of 1952 and creates a sympathetic, realistic character in Franny, who begins to accept her condition, rejoin her friends and even protest her school's inaccessibility. As a historical novel, this more than succeeds; as a fantasy, it misses the mark. (Fantasy. 10-14)

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August 1, 2014

Gr 4-6-Franny has polio in the summer of 1952. Her Jewish family is trying to do everything they can to support her, but in this Pittsburgh neighborhood Franny is relegated to watching her friends do all the things she wants to do. Along comes the flea known as Fleabrain, who lives on the tail of Franny's dog, Alf. Fleabrain is a genius-inspired by the newly published Charlotte's Web by E. B. White (also a favorite book of Franny's), or perhaps Kafka, or even by surviving periodic attacks of flea powder. He is also a voracious reader. An entertaining cast of characters include older sister Min, errant friend Walter Walter, mean-spirited Nurse Olivegarten, and Franny's lovely grandfather, Zadie. Fleabrain is a thinker and a doer, determined to get Franny going. The inclusion of details of daily life during the time period adds to the realism, but the fantasy adventures make clear that imagination is also at work. Comedic and philosophical, readers will find multiple levels to enjoy. The prejudice against persons with disabilities is startling, but as true to the time as collecting conkers and bottle caps. Fleabrain writes some bad poetry, admires James Howell's Paramoigraphyand the proverbs contained in that 17th century work. Rocklin includes an author's note reflecting on polio and the disablity issues, as well as offering a helpful bibliography and discussion guide, which will lend this title to social studies curricula. Useful and fun.-Carol A. Edwards, Denver Public Library, CO

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2015
1952 was the height of the U.S. polio epidemic. It was also the publication year of Charlotte's Web. These historical details drive Rocklin's animal fantasy, an homage to White's classic. Franny, convalescing from polio, receives a handwritten note from an eloquent flea named Fleabrain. With keen insight into human (and insect) relations, Rocklin creates believable, three-dimensional characters that help anchor the off-the-wall elements. Websites. Bib.

(Copyright 2015 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

November 1, 2014
The year 1952 was the height of the polio epidemic in the United States. It was also the publication year of Charlotte's Web. These historical details drive Rocklin's animal fantasy, an homage to White's classic. The book begins at Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh, where protagonist Franny Katzenback lies stricken with polio. Sister Mary Edberga, an "angel in disguise," reads Charlotte's Web aloud to Franny while an iron lung helps her breathe. After being released from the hospital, and with a lot of convalescing to do, Franny receives a note, written in spindly little letters, from her own Charlotte-esque creature: an eloquent flea named Fleabrain who lives on her dog Alf's tail and who, like Franny, devours books. A fortuitous encounter with some flea powder ("What doesn't destroy me, makes me stronger") gives the Ctenocephalides canis super, er, human strength, and he takes Franny on wondrous nighttime adventures. Franny does slowly regain her strength, but only -- and realistically -- to a point; there's a poignant strand about her reclusive Squirrel Hill neighbor Dr. Jonas Salk's polio vaccinebut no cure. With keen insight into human (and insect) relations, Rocklin creates believable, three-dimensional characters -- Franny's goody-two-shoes older sister, for example, and Franny's old gang of friends, fearful of contagion -- that help anchor the off-the-wall-fantastical elements. And when Fleabrain finds himself before the Commanders of All Nuclei -- i.e., sentient cells, bacteria, and other "wonders of the microworld" -- readers will take up the chant: "SOME FLEA!" elissa gershowitz

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)